Nokia 7900 Prism

release date: October 2007
colours:
 
black
 
sand
Nokia 7900 Prism

RATING

3.5 stars

Pros

  • Thin
  • 3G
  • 1 GB phone memory
  • Build quality

Cons

  • No memory card slot
  • No video calling
  • No FM radio

SUMMARY

A more expensive version of the Nokia 7500 Prism. Well-built, stylish phone with a unique design. Average features. Has an aluminium back cover, 3G and is quad-band.

Review

The Nokia 7900 Prism is a more expensive version of the Nokia 7500 Prism.

Nokia 7900 vs 7500 Prism: The 7900 is 3G, has an aluminium back cover, is 2 mm taller, 3.4 mm thinner and 1.1 mm wider than the Nokia 7500 Prism. The 7900 has 1 GB phone memory (the 7500 has 30 MB), but the 7900 does not have a memory card slot.

Both phones use the S40 interface. The 7500 Prism has interchangeable plastic side parts, the 7900 lets you customize the lights (choose from 49): key mat, display, and the light bars at the top of the phone (missed calls and messages). The 7900 is more expensive than the 7500. It's quad-band (the 7500 is tri-band).

Design

The Nokia 7900 is a quad-band 3G fashion phone. A girly phone. A unique mobile phone design. Manufacturer's like to call these sort of phones "fashion" phones.

Nokia's description:

"Seamlessly crafted design with diamond-cut geometric patterns, laser-etched surfaces and polished matt finishing."

The phone is very thin - just 11 mm. The back cover is made of anodized aluminium, with "coin stamped and laser etched diamond-cut design". Build quality is good. Anodized - coated with a protective layer by electrolysis.

Keypad: Triangular plastic keys. They're big enough and easy to press. You might not like the angular design. The navigation keys above the keypad are fine - easy enough to press. The selection keys are above the call and end keys.

No memory card slot: The Nokia 7900 has 1 GB phone memory, but no memory card slot.

The connector is at top of the phone, along with the light bars - these light-up when you miss a call or text message.

Customise with 49 colours: Select the light colours from a grid. The colours are for the key mat (Nokia call the keypad a key mat), the display and the light bars. Hours of fun... really...

Living wallpaper: "Marvel at a living wallpaper that animates new, dazzling patterns unique to each phone". Yes, another unique mobile phone feature. The wallpaper changes (very subtly and not quickly) throughout the day according to the time, battery and signal strength. A bit of a "what other gimmick can we put in our press release" sort of feature.

OLED screen: Organic LED (LED) - an LED with a film comprised of organic compounds. OLED screens do not require a backlight to function. "...they draw far less power and, when powered from a battery and can operate longer on the same charge".

Features

2 MP camera

OK. Average. Nothing special. The LED flash is somewhat naff and there's no auto-focus or camera lens cover.

Camera options include: flash, white balance, burst, colour effects, self-timer, night mode, camera sounds, 8x digital zoom, image size and quality, video size and quality. 2 MP offers 1600 x 1200 pixels.

Capture video at 176 x 144 (QCIF) or 128 x 96 resolutions. Pretty low, but on par with many other mobile phones.

Music player

Works fine. Simple interface - the same as other S40 mobile phones. Playlists, artists, albums, genres, equalizer, stereo widening, change music player theme and playback options. Watch video clips too.

The supplied earphones are fine. The speaker volume is good (speaker is on the back) and quality is OK for a mobile phone.

Web browsing

2-inch screen - not good for Web browsing. Reasonably fast download speeds are possible with 3G (up to 384 Kbps).

Text Input

OK. T9 predictive text can speed things up. Nowhere near as fast as a good hardware or on-screen QWERTY keyboard.

Summary

The Nokia 7900 Prism is a well-built, stylish phone with a unique design. Average in the features department. A more expensive version of the Nokia 7500 Prism, the 7900 has an aluminium back cover, 3G and is quad-band. It's also 18 g heavier than the 7500 Prism.

Similar in features to the Nokia 6500 Classic.

Features / Specifications

* confirm features at manufacturer's Web site.

Release Date
October 2007
Size
112.0 x 45.0 x 11.0 mm
4.4 x 1.8 x 0.4 inches
Weight
101 g
3.6 oz
Colours
 
black
 
sand
Screen
  • 2.0-inch OLED
  • 240x320 pixels
  • 16000000 colours
Memory
  • 1 GB phone memory
Networks
  • Quad-band (GSM 850, 900, 1800 and 1900 Mhz)
  • EDGE
  • 3G (UMTS 2100 Mhz)
Battery Life
  • Talk time: 3 hours
  • Standby time: 300 hours

In The Box

Nokia 7900 Prism, battery, charger, USB cable, headset, strap, quick guide, user guide.

Connectivity

  • Bluetooth 2.0
  • USB 2.0

Camera

  • 2.0 MP Camera

  • features: Flash, white balance, burst, colour effects, self-timer, night mode, camera sounds, 8x digital zoom, image size and quality, video size and quality

  • QCIF video resolution
  • 15 FPS video capture

Messaging

  • # SMS, MMS, AMS, Email

Entertainment

  • Music Player
  • Video Player

Internet

  • WAP 2.0 xHTML/HTML browser

Installed Applications

  • Customisable lights - 49 different colours
  • PIM: Organiser tools
  • Voice dialling, voice commands, voice recorder

Prices

Prices coming soon.